Validation of calculated globulin (CG) as a screening test for antibody deficiency in an Italian University Hospital.

This study investigated the possibility to use low levels of CG to detect antibody deficiency in an Italian University Hospital. First, we conducted an analysis of anonymized adult samples collected at our biochemistry laboratory with a range of calculated globulin levels from 15 to 22 g/l. A CG cut-off of 19 g/l detected subjects with IgG lower than 600 mg/dl with a sensitivity of 70% and a specificity of 75%. To further verify the clinical usefulness of CG, we retrospectively evaluated the relationship between CG values and serum IgG levels in 38 patients diagnosed with CVID at our Institution. Using a CG cut-off of 19 g/l we detected antibody deficiency in 97.3% (37/38) of the subjects present in our cohort. Finally, we chose a CG value of 19 g/l as cut-off for a prospective AD screening program. The results of this study show that a screening CG test can be used as a tool to reduce diagnostic delays, improve long-term prognosis and reduce the healthcare costs of antibody deficiency. PMID: 30091407 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
Source: Current Pharmaceutical Biotechnology - Category: Biotechnology Authors: Tags: Curr Pharm Biotechnol Source Type: research